HORRIBLEST FLOWER IN MY GARDEN:

English teachers will rise en masse & tell me there is no such word - well, they should invent one for flowers like this. This is Ligularia 'Marie Crawford' & I dislike these orange flowers intensely; on the flip side it has fantastic, elephant sized leaves akin to polished mahogany, & for this reason I tolerate it in my garden.
This bed of perennials is up by the cottage & through the year has a display of dahlias, peonies, irises, hydrangeas & Hostas. Here I tend to plant those perennials that don't fit in, in the heather beds. Last year I forgot to dead head this Ligularia, consequently I have dozens of seedlings which I should really pot up. There are gardeners out there who would really love the flowers & the leaves. Not this one !

It is a magical kind of day, hot sunshine, few clouds, no wind & the lake shimmering. When I walked up to take this photo, a covey of 22 quail ran ahead of me. We frequently see them skittering over the lawn, but this is the largest covey ever. I love it when I'm in the garden & you can hear them calling to each other. It sounds like .........mac-fer-son.